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“I missed you!”
The warm body temperature transmitted through her hands made her realize that this situation was reality.
Asil hugged him even tighter.
There were many things she wanted to ask, such as how he got here and what that appearance from earlier was, but for now, she decided to focus on the warmth they shared.
Edenber, who had been frozen for quite a long time, stammered.
“Asil…?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
With a cheerful reply, Asil released her hold and stepped back.
Edenber’s face, seen after a long time, was exactly as Asil had imagined.
Perhaps because he had been moving through battlefields where life and death crossed, his atmosphere had grown sharper than before, but for that reason, she felt he resembled his father even more.
If she told him the truth, would Edenber hate it?
No. They would have reconciled by now, so he might not hate it.
Just looking at his face made a clear smile emerge naturally.
Asil curved her eyes beautifully.
Meanwhile, Edenber was in a state of being slightly dazed.
The girl in his memory was nowhere to be found, and a much taller Asil was standing tall in front of him.
Of course, he had also imagined how Asil would change once she grew up.
But this appearance surpassed his meager imagination.
Her black hair, reaching down to her waist, shone brilliantly as if starlight from the night sky had been sprinkled upon it, and her pink eyes, resembling plum blossoms, sparkled lovelily as if all the clear things in the world had been gathered and placed within them.
Her vibrant, pale cheeks were clean without a single blemish, and her high bridge of the nose and small, cute pink lips made her delicate features stand out even more.
The shock was even greater because Asil had been in her original form until just a moment ago.
Since her original form had no major differences other than a slight increase in size, he had unconsciously thought her human form would remain the same as well.
“Edenber?”
“…….”
Asil waved her palm in front of Edenber’s face as he stood unable to say anything.
“Are you okay?”
“……Yes.”
It was a meeting after a long time, yet he had shown a foolish side of himself.
He shook his head slightly as if waking from a dream.
Regaining his senses shortly after, he took Asil’s hand, kissed the back of it lightly, and offered a greeting.
“It’s been a long time.”
“Why were you acting like that?”
Even if Edenber was identical to the image in her imagination, meeting and talking after eight years brought a coexistence of shyness and awkwardness.
So, Asil asked mischievously on purpose.
“Were you surprised because I’m too pretty?”
“Yes.”
“……Huh?!”
“Because you are much prettier than I thought, I lost my senses.”
“…….”
Asil, who had gained nothing from playing a joke, was lost for words.
Asil kept her mouth shut tight while her earlobes and the nape of her neck turned red, then she suddenly shouted.
“Y-you shouldn’t go around saying things like that to just anyone!”
“I’m only saying it to you.”
“Y-you shouldn’t say it to me either. You shouldn’t go around saying things like that recklessly.”
Asil quickly turned her gaze elsewhere and fanned herself rapidly with her hand.
However, because she felt her cheeks flushing repeatedly due to Edenber’s gaze persistently following her, she eventually gave up on calming down and asked stutteringly.
“H-how did you get here? I checked and saw you weren’t on the delegation list.”
“I came as Fear’s attendant. Since coming as the Duke of Monlepe might cause unnecessary misunderstandings at the talks, I had no choice but to hide my identity.”
“What was that appearance earlier? The look before you took off the earring.”
“I disguised myself since there would be people who recognize me. I heard that magic could be placed in the Basilisk’s earring, so I asked to have disguise magic put in it.”
Edenber showed her the earring.
It was the one given to Arcian when fighting the snake, which Asil knew well.
It had been returned to Edenber after the fight ended, and it seemed disguise magic had been placed in it.
“Ah, do you want to go see Bambam and Bambam’s mom? Or do you want to see Todori’s family? Todori had a lot of babies. As for how many he had—”
Asil rambled due to her embarrassed feelings.
It wasn’t the first time she had heard that she was pretty, but she didn’t know why her heart was racing like this.
“You saw Ari and Arin, right? The kids who were sitting here earlier.”
“Yes.”
“The one with the flower is Ari, and the one holding the grass stalk is Arin. Ari has many fears but is full of curiosity. So she’s always going into corners to hide. Arin is braver than Ari, but she finds moving a hassle, so if Ari or I aren’t there, she just stays still and sleeps. And also—”
“Wait a moment.”
Edenber interrupted Asil’s words.
“Let’s sit and talk.”
Come to think of it, they had been standing like this until now.
Asil, nodding her head hurriedly, quickly sat down.
And just as she was about to speak again, Edenber handed her cool water.
“Drink this while you talk.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Eat some strawberries too.”
“Yes.”
Only then did Asil notice the picnic basket full of strawberries that Edenber had brought.
It seemed he had brought it to give to her.
When she reflexively took a bite, a well-known flavor spread in her mouth. It seemed to be the same variety as the one Ari had brought yesterday.
While she was munching on the strawberries with a heart that had grown much calmer without her realizing it, Edenber spoke.
“Everyone over there is doing well. My mother and Lord Elcai are both healthy, and Lord Ikart is also…… doing well.”
Although he frowned when mentioning Ikart, the relationship seemed to have definitely improved compared to eight years ago.
Asil nodded silently, then asked as something suddenly came to mind.
“What about Sister Lilibet and Brother Briden? I think Sister Lilibet said she had something to say back then.”
“It was just a simple greeting. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Is that so? Brother Snowa asked if there had been any further contact, so I thought there would be something else…….
While she was tilting her head in wonder, Edenber quickly changed the subject.
“Her Imperial Highness Princess Eokaste has become the Crown Princess.”
“What?!”
Her eyes widened naturally in surprise.
“Even after you left, the position of Crown Prince remained vacant for quite a long time. Because His Majesty the Emperor was in great grief, he let go of all state affairs for a while.”
It made sense, as he had lost the Empress and the Crown Prince almost at the same time.
She had heard stories that other countries had invaded taking advantage of that gap, and that Edenber and the divine beasts had struggled to block them.
Edenber cast his gaze down as if reminiscing about the past.
“At that time, the Third Imperial Princess stepped forward.”
“…….”
“She settled the Empire, which had fallen into chaos, and stood against the enemy countries in place of His Majesty the Emperor’s absence.”
Asil thought it was quite unexpected.
The Eokaste Asil knew had the ability but lacked affection for her home country, so it seemed she wouldn’t even blink an eye if the Empire perished.
As if reading that thought, Edenber added.
“It’s thanks to you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Precisely, thanks to your family. She said that if even those who aren’t imperial citizens protect it by throwing their whole bodies like that, she herself should naturally save the country as well.”
To be precise, she had stepped forward saying it would be a shame she couldn’t live with if she couldn’t do what the beastmen had achieved, but Edenber refined it with kind words.
“The nobles, impressed by that sight, nominated the Imperial Princess as the Crown Princess.”
Of course, there was a minor issue where the Emperor, who was obsessed with hair color even then, opposed it.
However, thanks to public sentiment turning away completely while the Emperor was away, she was able to become the Crown Princess without any bloodshed.
“That’s a relief. What about the Saintess?”
“The Saintess…….”
Edenber narrowed his brow as if recalling something troublesome.
“She ran away.”
“What?”
“Leaving behind only one strange note saying she would leave to find her freedom since the original story was over, she robbed the temple’s vault and disappeared. It happened several years ago already, but the holy knights are still scouring the entire continent.”
“I-I see.”
She had seemed to have many grievances with the Great Temple, and it was truly behavior characteristic of Selena.
Lastly, the news ended with the update that the Sunrise Ducal House was also doing well, aside from the fact that their shadow, White Shadow, was desperately searching for someone.
“…….”
“…….”
A light silence fell between them.
It was at that moment, while Asil was thinking hard about what more to ask.
Her fingertips slightly brushed against Edenber’s.
She felt a pleasant, sweet flutter tapping against her heart.
Asil swallowed hard unknowingly.
Perhaps because she had heard that she was pretty earlier, she kept being conscious of Edenber.
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